High-Speed Rail in Alberta

 
 

High-Speed Rail in Alberta

High-speed rail is the transport mode of the future and proven technology with over 45,000 km of high-speed rail in over 20 countries around the world.  

For the past few decades, high-speed rail connecting Calgary and Edmonton has been an ongoing conversation of those who want to see economic growth in one of Canada’s prime intercity corridors. 

Connecting Alberta’s two urban centres with fast, reliable transportation unlocks a huge amount of opportunity for Albertans. Each major city and the towns in between can benefit from the best of each other, as our population grows and the need to diversify our economies increases. 

Prairie Link contributes to the future of transportation infrastructure in Alberta in five main ways:

  • 1. Economic Growth

    We are excited to create more economic opportunities in Alberta, for Albertans. The province is the first region in Canada to advance high-speed rail and sends a strong signal to investors that we are open for business. In addition, when the project advances to the design and construction phase, it will provide thousands of job opportunities for Albertans.

  • 2. Energy efficiency and emissions reductions

    High-speed rail operating with electric or hydrogen fuel cell propulsion will result in a reduction of nearly 9 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over the first 30 years of operations.

  • 3. Space and time efficiency

    High-speed rail has a smaller physical footprint and can transport many more passengers than equivalent vehicles and air travel and will have a proposed travel time of under 90 minutes.

  • 4. Improvement in Safety

    No form of conventional passenger travel technology can compete with the safety record of high-speed rail.

  • 5. Reduction in traffic congestion and the delay of the future costs of expanding Highway Queen Elizabeth II Highway

    The estimated removal of between 1.8 and 2.8 million cars from Highway 2 will dramatically reduce congestion and offset further investment in expanding this highway for many years.